MGM continues its plundering of its own library for material to remake by hiring Rachel Lee Goldenberg to direct their planned musical remake of the 1983 comedy Valley Girl.

The project has been in development at the studio for several years with Clay Weiner previously attached to direct.

The original film starred Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman as two teens from different social circles – he’s a punk rocker while she is a middle class girl from the San Fernando Valley – who meet and fall in love. Although it is somewhat a Romeo And Juliet redux, director Martha Coolidge keeps the film smart amidst all its 1980s New Wave trappings.

This will be the first feature film for Goldenberg, who cut her teeth directing shorts for the Funny Or Die website before moving on to direct for such television series as The Mindy Project and Angie Tribecca as well as the 2015 Lifetime movie A Deadly Adoption which starred Will Ferrel and Kristin Wigg.

None of the reporting on Goldenberg’s hire indicates who, if anyone, is writing the songs for this musical version. It is possible that the production will be using many of the New Wave songs that Coolidge placed on the film’s soundtrack, similar to how the musical, and subsequent film, Rock Of Ages used existing 80s hair metal songs. The Valley Girl soundtrack featured songs by such artists as Modern English, the Plimsouls, Josie Cotton, Bonnie Hayes and the Payolas. No matter what the source of the music, hopefully Goldenberg will be able to capture the bright, energetic visual esthetic of the original MTV era that the film is set in.

]]>http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2016/11/20/mgm-rachel-lee-goldenberg-valley-girl/feed/0WICKED Film Adaptation Gets Release Datehttp://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2016/06/16/wicked-film-adaptation-gets-release-date/ http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2016/06/16/wicked-film-adaptation-gets-release-date/#commentsThu, 16 Jun 2016 20:43:27 +0000http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/?p=38721Although don't expect a Wicked film for over three years. [click for more]

The long-awaited film adaptation of the popular Broadway musical, Wicked, appears to finally be on its way to us.

The Hollywood Reporter states that Universal has set a December 20, 2019 release date for the film. Writer Winnie Holzman and composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz, collaborators on the Broadway show, will be reuniting for the film adaptation, which is set to be directed by Stephen Daldry.

The musical, an adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, is a reimagining of the Frank L. Baum story taken from the vantage point of the Wicked Witch of the West. In the musically, she is not evil, but rather framed by the Wizard due to her support of Oz’s talking animals. The first act stands as a prequel of sorts to The Wizard of Oz, with the second act providing new background on the film from the reimagined perspective.

Wicked became the 10th longest running show on Broadway in February of this year, passing Rent, and will most likely jump over Beauty and the Beast for the 9th spot by this time next year. It has spawned successful production over the globe, including a currently running one in London’s West End, and has a successful touring show, the latest one which has been running for seven years. The show has won 3 Tony’s and 6 Drama Desk Awards.

The film is set to open opposite an as-yet-unnamed live-action fairy tale adaptation from Disney, which might cause an unneeded battle for the same audience pool. No word as of yet if the musical’s first leading actresses, Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenowith, will return to their career making roles for the film.

]]>http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2016/06/16/wicked-film-adaptation-gets-release-date/feed/1Hanson Channel THE BLUES BROTHERS In New Videohttp://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2010/07/16/hanson-channel-the-blues-brothers-in-new-video/ http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2010/07/16/hanson-channel-the-blues-brothers-in-new-video/#commentsSat, 17 Jul 2010 02:47:39 +0000http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/?p=9151The rock group Hanson are big fans of the film The Blues Brothers. How do I know? I’ve seen the video for their latest song, “Thinking ‘Bout Somethin'” The song was released as a single [click for more]

The rock group Hanson are big fans of the film The Blues Brothers. How do I know? I’ve seen the video for their latest song, “Thinking ‘Bout Somethin'”

The song was released as a single back in April, but the video has been getting a lot of play on VH1 and the MTV networks as of late. The four minute eleven second clip, directed by Todd Edwards, is almost a shot-for-shot remake of Ray Charles’ “Shake Your Tailfeather” scene in The Blues Brothers.

It’s not an exact copy. We are visiting Tay’s Music Exchange instead of Ray’s Music Exchange, Zac Hanson apparently doesn’t own a black suit, and since the Hanson song is longer than the Ray Charles’ song, the former deviates from the latter towards the end of the song.

And if the person stepping into the shoes of Murphy “Murph” Dunne in the Hanson video looks familiar, well, that’s because he is. He is recording legend “Weird Al” Yankovic. Yankovic is friends with Hanson, and appeared in the cameo as a favor.

A couple of weeks back, we told you about nine separate film projects based on L. Frank Baum’s classic Oz fantasy novels. Amid all the faithful adaptations, post-modern re-tellings, revisionist sequels and prequels was the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked, itself an adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s post-modern prequel novel of the same name.

Back in December 2008, Kristen Chenoweth, who was nominated for a Best Actress in a Musical Tony Award for originating the role of Glinda the Good Witch in the show, was of the opinion that the producers would probably wait until they had just about wrung every possible cent out of the live show before committing to a cinematic version. Well, even after grossing over $2 billion in world-wide ticket sales, the Broadway show is still playing to packed houses and there are several productions currently being staged in Chicago, London, Japan and Germany and touring companies traveling the globe. But it looks like that film version is going ahead now rather than later.

Deadline is reporting that show’s musical’s producer Marc Platt, book writer Winnie Holzman, and songwriter Stephen Schwartz have begun meeting with potential directors for a film adaptation. Among those in contention or having thrown their hat in to the ring are JJ Abrams, James Mangold, Ryan Murphy, and Rob Marshall.

That’s an intriguing list of names, especially since neither Abrams nor Mangold have directed a straight out musical, though Magold did helm the Johnny Cash bio-pic Walk The Line. Although Murphy is one of the creative forces behind the hit musical TV series Glee, which has seen both original Wicked leads Chenoweth and Idina Menzel make guest star appearances, he isn’t really seen as much of a film director. Perhaps when his second film Eat Pray Love opens next month that opinion will change. With the mega hit Chicago on his resume, Marshall seems to be the strongest contender.

But are Chenoweth and Menzel getting a little too old to play the college-aged Glinda and Elphaba or can they convincingly pull it off in order to get an approximation of their stage performances immortalized on celluloid? Then again, Stockard Channing really didn’t look like a high school senior in Grease, now did she?

If it was decided to recast, who could they go with? Glee’s Lea Michele seems like a shoe-in for the role of Elphaba, especially if Murphy gets the directing gig. Anne Hathaway might make a good stab at the role as well. I would think Amanda Bynes would be a good Glinda, if she isn’t serious about her retirement.

]]>http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2010/07/11/wicked-film-adaptation-seeking-director/feed/0A Harder Edged Version Of SOUTH PACIFIC?http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2010/07/11/a-harder-edged-version-of-south-pacific/ http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2010/07/11/a-harder-edged-version-of-south-pacific/#commentsSun, 11 Jul 2010 12:30:53 +0000http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/?p=9002In all the times that I’ve seen the Rogers & Hammerstein musical South Pacific, be it the 1958 film version, a community theater production or playing lead trumpet in the pit orchestra when it was [click for more]

In all the times that I’ve seen the Rogers & Hammerstein musical South Pacific, be it the 1958 film version, a community theater production or playing lead trumpet in the pit orchestra when it was staged my senior year of high school, I have never once thought, “You know, I think this needs to be a grittier, more realistic portrayal of the war in the Pacific during World War Two.”

But Ileen Maisel and Bob Balaban have thought that perhaps South Pacific does need a bit of a make over. According to Variety, the pair are starting to develop a “harder-edge version of the iconic musical,” through their production company Chicagofilms. But this new version will keep all of the original musical’s upbeat songs. So no matter what kind of character makeover they put nurse Ensign Nellie Forbush through to give her that hard edge, she’s still at some point going to be belting out “A Cockeyed Optimist.”

So what exactly will a “harder-edged” version of South Pacific look like? Lt. Cable being shot down in a hail of bullets in a scene similar to Saving Private Ryan? If they stick closer to Michener’s original material, the short story collection Tales Of The South Pacific, the Emil de Becque character meets a grisly end with his severed head impaled on a stake, which doesn’t sound like a very enchanted evening to me.

]]>http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2010/07/11/a-harder-edged-version-of-south-pacific/feed/2HAIRSPRAY Sequel Deadhttp://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2010/06/05/hairspray-sequel-dead/ http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2010/06/05/hairspray-sequel-dead/#respondSat, 05 Jun 2010 19:55:57 +0000http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/?p=8562Two summers ago, it seemed like New Line was very hot to have a sequel to their 2007 hit musical Hairspray, even going so far as to announce it for the summer of 2010.Well, here [click for more]

Two summers ago, it seemed like New Line was very hot to have a sequel to their 2007 hit musical Hairspray, even going so far as to announce it for the summer of 2010.Well, here it is and a glimpse at the release calenders will show you that Hairspray 2 is nowhere to be found.

Director Adam Shankman broke the news this week while he was doing publicity for his upcoming appearance on the new season of the series So You Think You Can Dance. He doesn’t sound particularly upset by it, nor does he specify whether it was a creative or business decision.

I’m going to kill that rumor now, that got killed. It’s ok, I was so happy with the first one, let’s leave well enough alone. It’s all good.

Can’t say that I’m not relieved. While I enjoyed Hairspray, I felt no need or urge to follow-up the characters to see how they were getting along after the credits rolled. And let’s face it, how many musicals have had successful sequels? The only one I can think of is Funny Lady (1975), a follow up to the 1968 film adaptation of Funny Girl.

And from a business sense, I can see why they wouldn’t want to go forward unless they had a story that they truly thought was great. None of the first film’s cast’s contracts had clauses that would oblige them for a sequel. The producers would need to negotiate new deals with everyone for their participation, and I imagine that it would be costlier this time around. A large budget line for your cast means you’ll need to make more at the box office to break even.

]]>http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2010/06/05/hairspray-sequel-dead/feed/0MAMMA MIA Sequel Probably Not Happeninghttp://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2010/02/16/mamma-mia-sequel-probably-not-happening/ http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2010/02/16/mamma-mia-sequel-probably-not-happening/#respondTue, 16 Feb 2010 12:53:54 +0000http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/?p=7242Bad news Mamma Mia! Fans. If you were hoping for a return trip to that Greek island where everyone spontaneously breaks into ABBA songs, you may have to cancel your travel plans. While making the [click for more]

Bad news Mamma Mia! Fans. If you were hoping for a return trip to that Greek island where everyone spontaneously breaks into ABBA songs, you may have to cancel your travel plans. While making the publicity rounds for Percy Jackson And The Olympians, Pierce Brosnan told Empire that “I don’t think it’s happening,” when asked about the possibility of a Mamma Mia! sequel becoming a reality.

Although it opened opposite box office juggernaut The Dark Knight in the summer of 2008, Mamma Mia! still managed to pull almost $610 million at the worldwide box office against its rather small $52 million budget. That kind of return automatically triggers talk and speculation of a sequel. And the talk has flowed in the last 18 months or so about a sequel with even a rumor circulating that the proposed second film wouldn’t even feature the music of ABBA!

I can’t say that I’m too disappointed by this news. I wasn’t that impressed with the film outside of the production of the music. And sequels to popular film musicals never really seem to work out. Grease 2, anyone?

]]>http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2010/02/16/mamma-mia-sequel-probably-not-happening/feed/0Zemeckis To Travel On YELLOW SUBMARINEhttp://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2009/08/20/zemeckis-to-travel-on-yellow-submarine/ http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2009/08/20/zemeckis-to-travel-on-yellow-submarine/#respondThu, 20 Aug 2009 14:51:06 +0000http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/?p=5152Robert Zemeckis is planning a trip to Pepperland. Using the same motion-capture animation techniques that he used for Beowulf and the upcoming A Christmas Carol, Zemeckis is gearing up to remake Yellow Submarine, the classic [click for more]

Robert Zemeckis is planning a trip to Pepperland. Using the same motion-capture animation techniques that he used for Beowulf and the upcoming A Christmas Carol, Zemeckis is gearing up to remake Yellow Submarine, the classic animated film featuring the Beatles.Variety is reporting that Disney lawyers have been working for the last several months to clear up rights issues surrounding the possible project, which could also spawn Broadway and Cirque du Soleil stage productions.

In the original 1968 animated film, the Fab Four are recruited to help defend the undersea world of Pepperland from the invading Blue Meanies. Featuring numerous Beatles songs and some rather trippy design and animation, the film was a definite hit with audiences, who sometimes brought along their own recreational pharmaceuticals to further enhance the experience.

Normally, the type of motion capture technology Zemeckis uses for his films helps to make the three-dimensional, computer generated animation move more realistically and life like. Is Zemeckis planning on mapping the original film’s psychedelic character design on to realistic, motion-captured movement? Definitely an intriguing thought, especially since Zemeckis is planning on doing the film in 3D.

With Paul McCartney in the midst of a sold out tour and anticipation building for next month’s release of the Beatles supplement for the Rock Band video game, there certainly is a boom in interest in the Fab Four. But will that interest still be there in 2012, when Zemeckis hopes to premier the film in conjunction with the Summer Olympics?

]]>http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2009/08/20/zemeckis-to-travel-on-yellow-submarine/feed/0Bobcat Goldthwait To Direct Musical Based On Kinks Albumhttp://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2009/08/17/bobcat-goldthwait-to-direct-musical-based-on-kinks-album/ http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2009/08/17/bobcat-goldthwait-to-direct-musical-based-on-kinks-album/#commentsTue, 18 Aug 2009 04:24:40 +0000http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/?p=5096It has always struck me as odd that Hollywood has not investigated the idea of turning rock and roll concept albums into film. As potential film projects, they certainly seem like attractive prospects- They already [click for more]

It has always struck me as odd that Hollywood has not investigated the idea of turning rock and roll concept albums into film. As potential film projects, they certainly seem like attractive prospects- They already have a built in storyline, score and fan base. But with the exception of director Ken Russell’s Tommy, based on The Who’s classic album, and the short film Kilroy Was Here, which the rock band Styx screened on tour in 1983 to promote the same-titled album which yielded the hit “Mr. Roboto,” I am at a loss to think of when Hollywood looked to a pre-existing rock and roll album as the source for a film.*

Perhaps comic-turned-director Bobcat Goldthwait will change all that if his planned rock musical film, an adaptation of the Kinks’ 1975 concept album Schoolboys In Disgrace, comes to fruition. During an interview with CHUD to promote his upcoming film World’s Greatest Dad, Goldthwait stated that he is currently developing storyboards for the film to help him convince potential investors of the project’s viability.

The album was released at the end of the band’s short-lived “theatrical period,” which saw Kinks’ frontman Ray Davies turning his hand from pop hits to broader, sprawling rock operas. The story of a school boy who is continually humiliated and punished by a sadistic school master until he eventually grows up to be a villain himself, serves as a prequel to two previous 1973 albums, Preservation: Act 1 and Preservation: Act 2, which kick started the theatrical period.

Goldthwaite has already met with Davies about the project and has received the singer’s blessing.

Due to numerous reasons, the Kinks’ “theatrical period” is probably the least familiar to modern listeners and casual fans, myself included. While this might not be ideal from the standpoint of the project already having a built-in audience, it does give Goldthwaite some latitude to develop the film’s plotline without having to worry that any deviation from the source material will put him under fire from fans. Goldthwaite has been very quietly building a decent resume as a director, starting with 1991’s cult classic Shakes The Clown, described by one critic as “the Citizen Kane of alcoholic clown movies.” While a musical would be new territory for Goldthwaite to navigate as a director, I am sure that it will still carry his distinct darkly comic sensibilities.

And who knows, if the film hits, maybe it will give me the incentive to dig out my half-completed screenplay Celluloid Heroes out of my desk drawer.

*I am, of course, throwing out many of the rock and roll movies that featured rock acts as characters, oft times playing versions of themselves, or which draw some of their plot from a single song title like the Herman’s Hermits film Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter.

]]>http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2009/08/17/bobcat-goldthwait-to-direct-musical-based-on-kinks-album/feed/3Swing Dance Legend Frankie Manning Has Diedhttp://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2009/04/27/swing-dance-legend-frankie-manning-has-died/ http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2009/04/27/swing-dance-legend-frankie-manning-has-died/#commentsMon, 27 Apr 2009 23:18:10 +0000http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/?p=3680Bodies flew through air, slid along the ground and moved between each other in with uncanny precision while a fast paced, swingin’ jazz tune thundered on the soundtrack. For many moviegoers who had come to [click for more]

Bodies flew through air, slid along the ground and moved between each other in with uncanny precision while a fast paced, swingin’ jazz tune thundered on the soundtrack. For many moviegoers who had come to theaters to see the Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson comedy Hellzapoppin’ in 1941, the dance routine was their first exposure to the exciting new jazz dance known as lindy hop. To generations of fans and practitioners of the dance who came after, it would be considered the greatest lindy hop routine ever choreographed.

Frankie Manning, the man who choreographed the routine as artistic director of the Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers dance troupe, passed away this morning in New York City, just a few weeks shy of his 95th birthday.

Although born in Jacksonville, Florida, Manning grew up in New York City. As a teen, he began going to many of the dance halls in Harlem, demonstrating an ability to quickly learn moves of the other dancers and creating new one of his own. In 1935, he worked with his partner Frieda Washington to create the first “air step” or aerial. The pair kept the move a secret, finally unveiling it to win a dance contest at Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom.

That same year, Savoy bouncer Herbert White organized several of the Savoy’s best dancers into the performance group Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, with Manning being the one who would choreograph a majority of their routines. The group toured extensively and appeared on Broadway. Demand for their performances became so great, that White would send out numerous groups all under the same name. One group, without Manning, appeared in the Marx Brothers’ 1937 classic A Day At The Races as part of the musical number “Who Dat Man?”

Shortly after the filming of the Hellzapoppin’ routine, see below, Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers disbanded as many male members of the group, Manning included, were being inducted into the Army to fight World War II. Manning served in the South Pacific. After the war, he formed the dance group the Congeroos, which toured from 1947 to 1955. The group made one film appearance, the 1948 musical Killer Diller, where they danced to “Basie’s Boogie” performed by Andy Kirk’s orchestra.

After the dissolution of the Congeroos, Manning retired from performing, going to work for the New York City post office for three decades. He would return to dancing in 1986 when he was approached by Lindy Hop enthusiasts who wanted to learn the dance from one its originators. Manning soon found himself teaching to a new generation of dancers around the world. He also provided choreography for the dance hall scenes in Spike Lee’s 2000 film Malcolm X. He also was one of the Tony award winning choreographers of the Broadway musical Black And Blue.

On a more personal note, this news has incredibly saddened me. After film, one of the great loves of my life is swing dancing. I have had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Manning a few times over the last decade or so at a couple of different workshops and dance events. He was always an energetic instructor and someone who loved what he was doing.